Addy's Third Week

Our little princess is three weeks old and she already believes that she is just that.... a princess.  This past week she has decided that she will not tolerate being put down.  Sigh.  That's right.  We have a little girl who wants to be held all....of...the...time. 

It was like a switch went off after all of the family left.  Addy was like "Wait a minute, why am I not being held constantly any more?"

Mike and I are trying to get her back to being ok with her bouncer and her swing, but it has been a rough couple of days.  She has been so cranky whenever she is awake, and it's exhausting. 

At first I thought maybe she was having gas pain or something (which sometimes I think she does), but often times as soon as you pick her up she stops crying.   Ding ding ding!  We have a spoiled baby girl on our hands.

So today we decided to try to get her on some sort of routine.  She isn't taking adequate naps during the day, and we think that has definitely contributed to her crankiness.  So we are taking the advice of a book that we read called "Babywise", and we're going to try to get her on a eat, activity, sleep schedule.  Meaning that I will not nurse to sleep, which was what was happening before; but then she would only sleep for a half hour or so. 

After I nurse her we are going to try to keep her awake for a little while by putting her in the bouncy seat, swing, activity mat, etc.  Then put her down in either her crib or the pack and play for a nap.  Today is the first day that we have used the pack and play for sleep purposes.  We had only used the changing table part of it before now.  When we wanted her to sleep we'd put her in the swing or the bouncer, but we're going to try using those things for awake time.  We'll see.  We'll try anything at this point.  Anything but holding her 24/7.  I refuse to have a baby that refuses to be put down.  We WILL figure this out somehow.

So right now I am sitting outside on this gorgeous day with the baby monitor next to me (using that for the first time today also) and Addy is napping in the pack and play in the living room.  Fingers crossed that she sleeps longer than 30 minutes. 
A little bit later we are going to venture out to the Sawmill Taproom with Addy in tow to meet up with some of Mike's friends from work.  I'm pretty proud of us for bringing her out as much as we have so far.  Lunch on Monday, out to Staples and then the Olive Garden yesterday for soup, salad, and breadsticks, and now the Sawmill today.  She has done well so far.  Got a little bit cranky (shocking right?) by the end of lunch yesterday, but not too bad.

I will say that Addy has still been a rockstar with her nighttime sleeping.  She usually goes down for the night between 11PM and midnight and she sleeps until sometime between 4:30 and 6AM.  Then she's back to bed until about 8AM.  Not bad at all for a newborn.  So, like my mom said, we can handle anything during the day as long as we can get some sleep at night :) 

Here are some pics from the week:

Addy and Daisy....best friends already!

Cuddle time!

Mommy's turn!

Love that little face :)

Talking a walk in the Baby Bjorn

Comfy cozy with Daddy

Ahhhh, a successful nap in the pack and play

Enjoying the beautiful weather in my bouncer

It was so gorgeous outside, I just had to get a picture.  It's amazing what an effect nice weather can have on your mood.  Despite the frustrations of this week, it's days like this that make me take a breath of fresh air and think "Life is good!".  And it is.